American Reacts to Why Does London Have So Many Airports?!

Ever wondered why London has so many airports? Let's dive into the fascinating reasons behind London's numerous airports and their unique roles presented by Jay Foreman. From Heathrow to Gatwick, discover the history, significance, and quirks of each airport!
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[@ianp1986]

10:15 It’s appropriate that it’s named Grahame Park because it’s named after Claude Grahame-White

[@WithTwoFlakes]

Aaah Biggles. I remember reading those back in the day when we were kids obsessed with planes. Later on as teenagers, we had fun making up spoof double-entendre titles for a laugh. Biggles holds his own, Biggles flies undone, Biggles takes it rough. Imagine our surprise to find that last one is a genuine Biggles book 😂

[@randomxnp]

Imagine my surprise when I found that most of the stories are true. Captain Johns collected stories from his service and wrote them as if they happened to Biggles.

[@neilmackay5655]

A biggles book was the first book I read in one sitting. Age maybe 10. A series I refuse to revisit for fear of destroying treasured memories.

[@lindylou7853]

Some wag has written ‘Luton’ in white stones, which you can see from the air as you approach Stansted…

[@Ramtamtama]

8:36 the Top Gear Test Track is at Dunsfold Aerodrome, opened at RCAF Station Dunsfold in 1942, becoming RAF Dunsfold in 1944

[@ziggythedrummer]

If it's a "port of entry or exit" for people or cargo, it's an airport. If not, it's an aerodrome or airfield.

[@alejandrayalanbowman367]

Southend was being used as a London airport way back in the early sixties by coach/air services running from Kings Cross. Southend was also used as a Car ferry terminal with flights to France Belgium and Switzerland.

[@andyjohnson4907]

I once shut Gatwick's runway down for about a day. I used to work for a construction material distributor. Works were being done on the runway, so they ordered the rapid setting material. I accidentally sent out the regular stuff. No one noticed until it had been put down. It wasn't safe for planes to land on it until it had hardened. My greatest achievement.

[@lorrainet6798]

I’ve flown out of London City once, it is small but then you don’t get the massive crowds like at Heathrow, so it was an ok experience.

[@vaudevillian7]

The Top Gear Test Track was a genuine airfield built in 1942, but known as Dunsfold Aerodrome

[@alejandrayalanbowman367]

To be an airporrt it had to have Customs facilities and the ability to handle international travellers just like a 'sea' port

[@user-lv6rn9cf8m]

Absolutely not. Most airports are purely domestical.

[@rocketrabble6737]

​@@user-lv6rn9cf8m "Domestical?" As in 'an obsolete word meaning domestic?

[@user-lv6rn9cf8m]

@@rocketrabble6737 Grow up

[@rocketrabble6737]

​@@user-lv6rn9cf8m use existing words

[@R.a.t.t.y]

Gatwick not only has two runways, but it has always had two runways. Slight problem is that they are so close together that they can only use one at once. However not all is lost. If one runway is damaged, they could switch to the other.

[@user-vd6qq6uk8p]

Bicester rhymes with blister

[@neilmackay5655]

The scarf thing is a call back to a comedy sketch in the eighties by Russ Abbott. I assume anyway.

[@trevorveail]

flying and taking off from London City is like taking off from an Aircraft Carrier.

[@robertwatford7425]

I flew out in a DASH 8 before they got serious about security. The pilots left the cabin door open so you could see right though the plane and out of the windscreen. Planes taking off have to clear Canary Wharf Tower by 800ft (it is 770ft) so they double the usual climb rate to 6 degrees. Landing is similarly steep but I have never flown in. City is one of the few airports in the world where the Emergency Vehicles include speedboats...

[@terryhunt2659]

I flew out from Stansted (to Hong Kong) in 1962 on a military families flight (with my Mum: I was six). The only airport buildings were two large, unheated hangars. Fog prevented our evening flight, so we had to bus to a hotel for the night, and share the room with a strange lady (I mean, we didn't know her, she wasn't actually weird!).

[@jaakkomantyjarvi7515]

14:36 "Building an expensive airport in the middle of the Thames Estuary in the middle of a recession? Hah! Ludicrous!" ... and Jay's reaction is because this is precisely what then-Mayor of London Boris Johnson proposed in 2016.

[@whophd]

Came here to write this.

[@michaeljeacock]

there was also a Biggles movie where he time travels to the 80s [when it was made] it was very weird but quite enjoyable.

[@adammullarkey4996]

8:40 That's not a joke. That's Dunsfold aerodrome, which was converted after the war to a racetrack (as were quite a few others around the country; we had a LOT of old aerodromes), and eventually became the test track for the Top Gear TV show.

[@Dreju78]

7:43 did you notice it's the same picture three times, just flipped once?

[@chrisofnottingham]

outstanding observation

[@choomah]

The Top Gear test track isn't a joke. It's at an old airport. You'll see the planes on the ground in background 😅 edit* Dunsfold aerodrome, if I remember right the track is actually just part of the runway system coned off

[@bionicgeekgrrl]

I believe Ben Collins now owns it as it was going to be developed into housing until fairly recently as the BBC didn't own it, only leased it.

[@rocketrabble6737]

It's a joke to me!

[@sam04019491]

1:08 Richard Pearse of New Zealand invented the aeroplane 9 months prior to the Wright Brothers. Timaru aerodrome is named after him.

[@neilmackay5655]

The scarf thing is a call back to a comedy dketch in the eighties by Ross

[@ewk33]

The top gear test track was for planes and you could see planes in the background

[@northbytrain]

I believe by airports, Jay is referring to commercial airports, not private ones. With this in mind, Los Angeles has five, so London still has the most.

[@DianeLittle-dd6ej]

Florida has 20 airports 😊

[@northbytrain]

@@DianeLittle-dd6ej Which city has the most though?

[@bionicgeekgrrl]

Another thing London has a lot of is Terminus stations for the various railway lines, almost all of which are outside of the City of London due to the City of London banning it in the early days of the railways.

[@stephenlee5929]

@@bionicgeekgrrl Not sure, Rail termini in City of London, how about Cannon Street , Fenchurch Street, Liverpool Street, Moorgate and Blackfriars, 5 is not bad for a Square Mile

[@kanedaku]

@@stephenlee5929 You beat me to it!

[@davidberesford7009]

You might like to look at: Flashheart Crashlands! An extract from the Blackadder series. Also check out Sir George Cayley the 18th century an English inventor and aviator.

[@enricomonti156]

Fun fact that the Brooklands Museum in Weybridge, still preserves the very first flight tickets booking office that was at Croydon Airport since 1911. I have flown into and out of five of the six London Airports

[@lloydcollins6337]

14:38 reference there is that Boris Johnson, whilst Mayor of London, proposed building a massive new London Airport in the middle of the Thames estuary during the 2008-crash caused recession. The proposed airport would have been built entirely on reclaimed land, would have had 4 runways, and would have operated 24/7 as it would have been far enough away from people's housing to not disturb their slumber, unlike Heathrow, which can only operate between strict hours.

[@jamesmachin8410]

Please do an interview with Jay Foreman that would be such a great watch

[@richardwani2803]

It's funny that Eastmidlands airport got changed to Nottingham City Airport even though it's in Leicester andv closer to Derby they did changed it back to Eastmidlands Airport after people complained

[@charlottehardy822]

Stanstead airport, making its presence known in the skies above me for most of my life and yet it’s one of the airports I haven’t used 😂😂😂

[@andyfinney8697]

London also has loads of small non-public airports, like the mentioned Biggin Hill, which operates as a private airport as well, and where several spitfires are based for leisure use.

[@michaeljeacock]

city airport is just across the river from me and I am under the flight path so the planes are low enough when they go over my house to be bloody noisy. but you sort of get used to it eventually. sort of.

[@lottie2525]

Can't believe you don't have more subscribers. Such funny reactions.

[@user-fq8rs7rz3i]

Can’t you?

[@lindylou7853]

Croydon airport was the predecessor to Heathrow …. It’s an IKEA now …. With a giant queue of cars …

[@randomxnp]

Biggin Hill is still an airport. It is just for private aviation. It is not an RAF base! I have flown in and out many times. I believe the technical requirement for an airport is a customs post. Hence it is a port, where goods and people can clear customs (and immigration). Also Heathrow was originally the company airfield for Fairey Aviation. It was started by Sir Richard Fairey in 1930. Bought the land from a vicar.

[@AlBarzUK]

In the mid-late 1950’s me mum took us to see the airport at Heathrow. It was a muddy field with caravans and tents, and there were duckboards so we didn’t get too mucky going to the tea tent. I haven’t been there since. Has it changed much?

[@nicksykes4575]

No, it's just got worse😉

[@rocketrabble6737]

It's less advanced if anything, but it's got lots of boards that 'ping' for no apparent reason.

[@chrisnorman1902]

Only two of they six airports are in London?

[@davidware9549]

But they are classed as London like London stansted and London Luton and London Southend

[@charlottehardy822]

3

[@user-fq8rs7rz3i]

They are in (3) or around (3) London. So yes, they’re London airports.

[@EdDnB]

I live next to Gatwick!! And it ain’t in London.. I tell ya that!!

[@bionicgeekgrrl]

Its a bit like what is and isn't London due to the City of London vs Greater London. You won't find any mainline railway stations in the City, they're all on the outskirts or by the river Thames.

[@skiptrailer7048]

You must watch Fire Maidens of Outer Space the longest version you can find

[@gwaptiva]

I used to stay in Biggin Hill, which is just outside of Croydon, when I first went to London; close to the airport (which then still existed) there was a camp site for Scouts... and the police dog training school, which made more noise than the airport did. And no, the worst offender in the "not in London" airports was London Prestwick, which is around 400 miles from London. They weren't, however, themselves to blame for that; that was caused by a booboo by RyanAir in (IIRC) Norway. Imagine getting out of a plane in the west of Scotland, 30 miles sw of Glasgow, asking the locals where they could find the bus to take them to their hotel in London.

[@user-fq8rs7rz3i]

Now that is funny! What a very ‘Irish’ thing to do!

[@Ramtamtama]

You can actually get a bus from Prestwick Airport to Glasgow, then another to London.

[@gwaptiva]

@@Ramtamtama Yep, and that only takes about 12 hours

[@davidsmith8813]

Downe Scout Camp. spent many a weekend there

[@UranusMcVitieFish-yd7oq]

Prestwick was never marketed as a London airport. A Glasgow (30+ miles away) airport on the other hand...

[@whophd]

Yep, Jay Foreman is probably the best of KZbin for me; the first channel I ever sponsored. And this is his best ever video, though maybe I need to choose a Map Men episode (it’s a tough field!)

[@bionicgeekgrrl]

North Weald and Duxford were big USAAF bases during WW2, and Duxford is a big aviation museum, with a big part of it dedicated to the USAAF/USAF. Northolt is where the Queen's Flight (32 Squadron) are based. Biggin Hill and Manston were big RAF based during WW2 and vital during the Battle of Britain. When I was a teenager I used to do crowd control at Biggin Hill when it was still partly RAF controlled and the annual air shows were something special each year. The Duxford air shows are also very good generally, but rather expensive so I've only ever been to one as an adult, though visited the museum (a part of the Imperial War Museum) many times.

[@watcherzero5256]

Los Angeles has six passenger airports, though one San Bernardino International Airport has only one airline using it which started service in 2022 (11 years after the airport was completed), and the only route which carries 20,000 passengers per year is to Los Angeles airport just 70 miles away. 😆

[@tonyhughes9741]

And how many INTERNATIONAL flights do they service? The terms airport and aerodrome were defined by the Chicago Convention of 1947 “Airport” and “Aerodrome” • airport: any airport where international flights arrive or depart. • aerodrome: a defined area on land or water (including any buildings, installations and equipment) intended to be used either wholly or in part for the arrival, departure and surface movement of aircraft.

[@angeladormer6659]

I have flown from Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, Stansted Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle and Teeside. When we flew from the 3rd and 4th London Airports. The airports only had large sheds for passengers to wait. Also, Birmingham was the same.

[@iolog513]

When was this? All 6 of london's airports definitely have purpose built passenger terminals in 2024.

[@angeladormer6659]

@@iolog513 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s. I'm going back to before they were large airports. The first flight was on a Dakota with canvas seats. I'm almost antique.

[@neilonaniet]

Bicester is pronounced Bisster 🙂 My grandad always used to call it "Bye-cester", and I hated him for it.

[@UranusMcVitieFish-yd7oq]

He means commercial airports. For example f you only count them Manchester, England, only has one (the third biggest in the UK). If you count airfields used only by private aircraft, unregistered airfields outside of controlled airspace and private airfields used by specific factories and/or laboratories it has 4 (5 if you count the helipad in New Mills about a mile oitside the official border)

[@HankD13]

Flown from them all, apart for Southend - did stay at the airport hotel for a few weeks and the airport itself was closed. Not actually sure it was ever going to reopen. Luton and City airport was the usual choice for flying to the Isle of Man.

[@leecollison7527]

Gatwick Airport is still one runway, but they are bidding to open the "2nd" relief runway permanently and move the main runway enough to the south so they would not interfere with each other (I think one has to be moved by about 39 feet). Up until Covid, it was always one of the, if not the, busiest single runway airport in the world.

[@B-A-L]

We just don't have the space to have one giant airport like Chicago or Dallas has so a lot of smaller ones make more sense.

[@malcomflibbleghast8140]

one joke went over your head....you missed the Thunderirds music....

[@marktubeie07]

😂😂 I noticed that also - JJ probably doesn't know what _Thunderbirds_ was... but I thought it was brilliant!!

[@annamae859]

Yeah he also missed why the Estate in Hendon is called Graham Park, buthe will probably click once he watches the video again.

[@kanedaku]

He missed old mistouchioed Grahame using an iPhone to get info on the other airports status'.

[@feralgrandad4429]

I went to school in Graham Park 🙂

[@ianp1986]

Small airports are much better than huge ones. I live in the North West of England and Liverpool Airport is so much easier to manage than Manchester

[@spursgog835]

Over 60 million people live in the UK not England.

[@stephenlee5929]

About 11 million people live in the UK not in England, about 55 in England, about 66 in the UK . Pedantry is not dead here.

[@kanedaku]

@@stephenlee5929 There are more than 55 people in England and 66 in the UK. Pedants win!

[@lindylou7853]

Rhyming slang …. Thus, ‘bankers ‘ becomes …. Actually, it’s, ‘ merchant bankers’ that’s the popular phrase …

[@davidhines7592]

its pronounced 'bister' (Bicester)

[@lindylou7853]

Bicester …. In typical British fashion it’s pronounced, ‘ Bister’ …. Now it has a big posh shopping outlet … and a tiny community hospital…

[@rocketrabble6737]

Has it got a "tiny community?"

[@lindylou7853]

WW1 and ww2 …. So every town had a field that became an airfield and some became an airfield …Battle of Britain … planes took off from fields …

[@n8nate]

It's common knowledge that the Wright brothers absolutely did NOT invent the aeroplane. They definitely drew attention to and perfected a design perhaps, but there were aeroplanes that flew before Kitty Hawk.

[@andyonions7864]

If all American tourists had to come through one small London airport, it wouldn't be fun.

[@sbjchef]

It's because we are in charge of the time

[@user-ki2je2di6i]

Loved my Biggles books 😊

[@vaudevillian7]

Those aren’t international airports you showed, most are just airfields

[@user-fq8rs7rz3i]

Yeah, I said that. Wtf

[@klaxoncow]

"Buy-chester" Ah, you mean "Bister". Map men did a video on this weird pronunciation already. Keep up.

[@geoffsmith1479]

could be worse, at least he saw the right letters, unlike when he read Southend as Southland

[@connorandersonguitar]

I would've been first to comment, but Gatwick airport delayed me.

[@Badgersj]

I blame Microsoft!😆

[@tonyhughes9741]

Could be worse - if you had been travelling via Luton you would still be stuck in security waiting to get your device back to type the above!

[@carolineskipper6976]

LA is listed as having 5 airports. There are a number of other 'airfields' but only 5 'airports'.

[@GnrMilligan]

I do enjoy your content Sir. And I really like The Map Men. So when you do one of their videos it's a double like! If I could click twice!

[@proskipper1]

Dunsfield is legit Top Gear test track...

[@StephenReacts]

Jay Foreman also attempted a Guinness world record…you may be interested in watching that😉

[@marktubeie07]

13:39 to good 😂😂

[@chrisbamber2762]

Northolt is still open for non miltary but its now set aside for private flights usally for goverment flights and VIP

[@bionicgeekgrrl]

Northolt has been a hybrid airport since the 90s (possibly earlier), with 32 Squadron based on one side, and the private side operating independently. 32 Squadron is in charge of flying VIPs and the Royal family on trips when called upon and does various other tasks when not required.

[@tonyhughes9741]

@@bionicgeekgrrl 32Sqn do a lot more than 'just' VIP stuff. They repatriate the fallen, bring home service personnel for compassionate reasons as well as other stuff

[@boggled007]

Quality entertainment. Enjoyed it.

[@DianeLittle-dd6ej]

New York has 3 or more airports

[@thefiestaguy8831]

This video is quite old... I live near Biggin Hill airport and it's very much an actual airport now. Not one operating commercial airlines per se.. Mainly charter flights, private jets for the rich and wealthy, and those for companies. A lot of the F1 racing cars are transported in planes flown in and out of Biggin Hill airport.... people extradited from the UK often depart via biggin hill as do a lot of criminals on the run - it's a small airport out of the way in a small town of around 15,000 people.

[@DianeLittle-dd6ej]

Florida has loads of airports think around 20 ?

[@stephenlee5929]

Florida ais a state, not a City.

[@johnm8224]

Hello all!

[@lindylou7853]

Northolt is where the Presidential planes land now ….

[@rogerevans425]

Stanstead is where they tend to land Airforce 1 etc, as it is the most secure of the ""London Internationals". It is also the airport where most "intercepted" planes are escorted by the RAF to because of the extra security. Northolt is often used for planes carrying Presidents/Monarchs from countries who are not so paranoid that they think everyone in the world wants to assassinate their leader.

[@tonyhughes9741]

@@rogerevans425 Northolt doesn't have a long enough runway for things like Air Farce One and other wide body aircraft. SAM1 will land at the airport nearest where POTUS needs to be. For example during COP26 it landed at Edinburgh - not Stansted. When "the Donald" wanted to play golf in Scotland it landed at Prestwick - not Stansted. Stansted is only the airport "intercepted planes" are escorted to if they are close to London, otherwise they are escorted elsewhere.. Northolt is used when presidents/monarchs feel they don't need an entire airliner to themselves and can survive with a mere private jet. Ironically Northolt (as a military establishment) is way more secure than a civilian airport like Stansted.

[@enemde3025]

" PITCHER" of water !? Do you mean JUG ?

[@user-fq8rs7rz3i]

I think that’s what he means, unless he’s talking about plants!

[@titanium_di2402]

Yes, pitcher in the US means jug. 👍🏽

[@Escapee5931]

So would the phrase "nice pitchers" get you a slap?

[@Thissamuel196]

fun fact: Gatwick airport is actually not in London even though it is called london gatwick

[@tonyhughes9741]

fun fact - none of those airports is really in London - except London City. Heathrow is in Hounslow Stanstead is in Essex Luton is (funnily enough) in Luton meanwhile, London Manston (closed) and London Southend are by the seaside And while we are at it Glasgow Airport is in Paisley Manchester Airport is closer to Stockport (or Wilmslow) And Glasgow Prestwick is nowhere near Glasgow

[@Badgersj]

I'm sure someone else has pointed it out, but "Bicester" is pronounced "Bister". No, no logical reason, it just is.

[@kanedaku]

All of London's airports are international, your LA's seven includes domestic only ones. London Town wins!! U-in-tha-K!! *U-IN-THA-K!!!* 😃😅👑🥳😘

[@JohnnyZenith]

These are 6 major international airports. That's the most in the world. You're not talking about major official international airports with your city.

[@louisekullar6629]

Bi -Chester is pronounced Bisster😂

[@WBGT007]

JJ! Pretty please! Check out the top ten Only Fools and horses moments. With a cherry on top. Thank you. Much love. CAST ME IN YOUR NEXT PROJECT

[@brian9731]

Luton is a terrible airport but unfortunately it happens to be the easiest to get to by road for me, living in North London. Whenever I go there, it always seems to be under reconstruction and has reconfigured from one configuration of horrible to a different one. To add injury to insult, a few months ago, an electric car in the multi-storey carpark caught fire and as it was a battery fire, it burned so hot that the car park structure was irreparably damaged. The place was in even more chaos than usual and the consequences are still being felt several months on. Luton has been voted Britain's worst airport.

[@peterfenwick5555]

Because most Brits have passports.

[@ruthmeb]

Bisssster

[@fiddyb]

Sorry JJ but Bicester is unfortunately pronounced as Bister, good effort though old chap.

[@DaChaGee]

There are seven international airports in your city??

[@user-fq8rs7rz3i]

I bet there isn’t, he doesn’t know what the ‘port’ portion of the word means!

[@williamwhitty7243]

bro big bushy tash, scarf ,look up biggles

[@jonntischnabel]

You still haven't learned, "Bicester" is pronounced "bister" not byChester! 😂

[@KC-gy5xw]

Ya, but most of them aren't even in London. Like when people take a cheap flight to a European country and have to travel 4 hours to get into the town nearby... Meh. And we're not even talking about the private ones!!

[@jasoncallow860]

The Wright brothers didn't invent the aeroplane, they developed the first "viable" flying version. Loads of people all over the place were building them, they were the first to get one to fly... a few metres...

[@geoffsmith1479]

All of the 'London' airports at least have a travel time of an hour or less into central London by train, so it's arguably quite fair to tag them as London airports, for people who want to have easy access to the capital, whether or not they're physically within London or not. (edit - yes, I wrote 'or not' twice in that last sentence. I guess I could delete one, but nah)

[@klaxoncow]

Of course we like airports because we invented... ...oh, no, wait. That's the one thing that you Americans did actually invent and we didn't: The airplane. Powered flight with the Wright brothers. Mind you, not that it was all that useful until Frank Whittle, a British engineer, invented the jet engine. But, still, no, that one's all yours. As is the discovery of Pluto. Shame it's not a real planet anymore, eh? No, wait. I've got it. The nuclear bomb. You guys invented that one (with a big smattering of help from the German refugees fleeing the Nazis, who really did all the science but, hey, American citizenship at the time they did it. It counts). Ah, I'm pulling your leg. Just taking the piss. Carry on, as you were.

[@geoffsmith1479]

To be fair, I think the internet is a pretty big one.

[@stephenlee5929]

@@geoffsmith1479 Not to useful without the World Wide Web, ie WWW.

[@geoffsmith1479]

@@stephenlee5929 Maybe without the web it doesn't have a high home consumer appeal, but it was plenty useful before the web, used between research institutions, academia, defence, corporate entities and so on, for email, ftp etc. The internet without the web is definitely still useful. The web without the internet however... well that would be useless.

[@jillybrooke29]

They are not in London except for City Airport !!

[@user-fq8rs7rz3i]

Ffs, they surround London! How could we fit them all within the borders of London? Talk sense!!!

[@gilbertbpuk]

Heathrow is also in London (just), being situated in the London Borough of Hillingdon. Still only makes for a third of them though!

[@VFLPlus]

Bro, does your city have ten INTERNATIONAL airports?

[@thabudmaster]

Jay, or whatever his name is, looks VERY sick. I've never seen dark bags under someone's eyes like that

[@maximiliandegarnerinvonmon6457]

Omg, stop rewinding over and over

[@GooGooMuck72]

Why does London have so few white people???????????

[@Escapee5931]

London is closer to the equator than most of Britain, so everyone has a nice tan.

[@user-fq8rs7rz3i]

Omg, he’s talking about proper airports, not local airfields. Stop with the ‘mine is bigger than yours’ routine. And the stop/start thing is really annoying!